vanamali

The laddoos at tirupati, after so many hours of waiting in the queue, after climbing the saptagiris, after finally seeing the God...

That's five-star prasadam right there!

Or shall we say, all prasadam is five star prasadam

But in this case you've been given a five-star tongue to taste it to its full beatific extent

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~vanamali

Sorry if I got off the subject, Prabhu. I'm not used to online etiquette! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

I think darshan is a very very important part of spiritual life. For me, deity worship was the thing that really attracted me to worship Krishna. I learned about His wonderful qualities through discourses and reading, but then seeing Him in the temple was really wonderful. It was "love at first sight" if you will. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

It's so wonderful to have a God that's not "way out in some heaven somewhere" but right here, nearby, ready to be served, ready to be loved, ready to enjoy whatever you have to offer Him.

That's our beautiful Krishna!

Do you have any pictures of your home murtis? I would like to see.

At home we have a approx 3" tall brass Balakrishna, 1" Ganapati, and photos of Sri Venkateshwara Swamy with Lakshmi and Alamelumanga, Naryana, Lord Ram hugging Hanumanji, and a picture of our beloved Venugopala beneath the autumn moon. Just like this one...

Jai Sri Krishna!

~vanamali

I would say they are approximately four feet tall. They are on a pedestal, and are at about eye level from the ground (I am 5'2")

I have another picture with Sri Krishna in a purple dhoti and Radha in a red and green sari, and both of them have these large south-indian style silver mukuts: they are so beautiful! I can't find it at the moment, but I will look around.

Here are our beautiful, beautiful Radha-Krishna murtis

Hindu Temple of Kansas City- Sri Krishna Janmashtami 2003

Mere to Giridhar Gopala... dusro na koi!

These murtis of Lakshmi/Narayan reside at Ved Mandir in New Jersey

1 Ved Mandir Drive, Milltown NJ, 08850

I got the pics from their website. www.vedmandir.org

I will try to find you some pictures from our temple to show you. We have the most beautiful Radha/Krishna and Ram darbar I have ever seen.

Hey SubhashRao, that is my husband's favorite painting! Bheeshma standing there white beard flowing, as if to say, take me now, Krishna! Kill me!

And then Arjun pleading with Him to stop.

Two great bhaktas from two very different points of view.

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~Vanamali

I have some lyrics in Hindi but more in English translations. Which would you prefer?

~Jai Sri Krishna

Just filling in some gaps to prev. post

pundareekaksha - lotus-eyed

madhu soodhana Hari - Hari, enemy of madhu

balaramanuja - strong brother of Ram (Lakshman) (Ramanuja means Lakshman, Balaram means Krishna's brother- could be a combination?)

venkataramana - pleasure of venkata (Venkata being Venkateshwara's dham, kaliyga vaikuntha)

seetha nayaka - hero of seetha

padmavati priya - one who is loved by padmavati (alamelumanga)

abhaya hastha - one whose hand is in the mudra of removing fear

padmanabha - who has the lotus growing from His navel (womb from which Bramha appeared)

thirumala nivasa - Lord of Tirumala

seshadri nilaya - whose residense is sheshadri (?)

LakshmiNarayan

Above post is mine, forgot to log in

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Hitler was hated for attacking and killing the innocent.

But it's now OK when YOUR GOVERNMENT does it. Nuking a city seems like a good idea!

Hey! Let's start a war, kill all our problems, AND MONOPOLIZE what's left! Well make it the LAW!

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Eh? What's happening? Are you angry with me for some reason? I didn't vote for Bush...

You are like Krishna's own private Bob Dylan

Jai Sri Krishna!

Nice writing /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Hitler was a vegetarian, Hitler was evil, therefore all vegetarians are evil.

THAT, my dear friends, is what we call a false silogism.

~LOVE~

vanamali

"Where was all the outrage when the thugs in Falujah killed four American civilians, dragged their burnt bodies through the streets and then hung their charred carcas' dangling over a bridge?"

There is outrage. However, when our country (the US) breaks Geneva Convention rules it loses its moral standing in the world.

Even worse, there is evidence that humiliation tactics were being used under orders because some people in the chain of command saw sexual degradation as a good way to get Iraqi prisoners to "break." It has been asserted that prisoners were not only put in sexually compromising positions, etc. but the pictures may have been taken under orders. The prisoners may have been blackmailed by using threats that the pictures would be sent to friends and neighbors if they didn't turn over information.

Even Donald Rumsfeld is saying things are going to get worse. More pictures are going to be released.

I believe what happened will be designated as torture. Some of the pictures (unreleased to the public) are reported to feature sodomy and torture of the genitals and other areas with electrodes.

Then Tuesday they released the tape of the American civilian being decapitated.

I knew this Iraq situation was going to degenerate into something far more terrible than Bush could ever imagine.

Let us pray for the innocent Iraqis and innocent Americans in the midst of this violence. May the leaders of this world learn to accept the guidance of the Lord Sri Krishna and learn to act in a humanistic and just manner.

And may the motives and actions of both sides be brought to full light.

Jai Sri Krishna!

"I've crushed every argument you made in the previous post, and still you want me to come up with more? Seems as if you cannot accept defeat. This isnt proper behavior of kshatriya. lol."

If you define winning by declaring victory, then I guess the "Iraq war" is over and done with simply because George Dubya's people put up a banner saying "Mission Accomplished" and declared themselves victorious. Anyway, this is quite off the subject of the rest of the forum, so I'm done talking to you now. God bless you!

~Madhav Yadav ke Dasi, Vanamali /images/graemlins/smile.gif

I'm not sure about this. Read my post under the topic Preparations for Tonsure for more info about tonsure at Tirupati

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I thought you were going to have a much better retort than that! I'm still up for a challenge if you've got anything more provocative to say.

~Peace be upon you, brother

~Vanamali

I truly believe that yes, if he can remember Jesus at the time of his death he will go to Jesus.

Take the story of the rich man:

A rich man was on the point of death. He was a miser, and hard-hearted and loved only one thing in the world- his son,

Narayana.

At the moment of his death the old man was in great pain and called out for his son to help him

"Naryana! Narayana!"

And Sriman Narayana came to rescue him.

Even though he was calling out to his son, the Lord came to him on a technicality. The heart of the lord is soft like butter, and if He hears someone calling out His name with such love, He cannot help but come to him.

The Lord of Love will come to your brother, perhaps in the form of Jesus, but surely even if he must be reborn, Sriman Narayana will remember your brother's love of "Jesus" and lead him to godhead.

With Much Love

~vanamali

Forgive me for playing rough, but really I was just playing with you.

Hope you didn't take too much offense.

~vanamali

As in the best software engineers and doctors on the planet. Yeah, you really know nothing about your own country. Why do you think USA is outsourcing all jobs to China and India? Because Americans can't make the cut in tech jobs.

The two things India dominates in are Religion and Science. Oh and by the way, better to be poor and educated and have a rich religious and devotional culture, than to be financially rich and unhappy as most people are in countries like the US. USA has a consumer-driven economy which can only function when people are unhappy and beleive they need to buy more and more material goods to make themselves happy. Happiness cannot be found there.

And by the way, I am an American!

P.S.

All you good devotees may bow to such stupid comments, and I love you for it!

I cannot, because I am a kshatriya and cannot resist a challenge.

Really people are becoming so ignorant.

There is a place where you can check your shoes in for free. It is near the queue complex. You can remove shoes before entering the queue complex. I don't know if you have to remove shoes before tonsuring. I would ask when you go to get it done. I don't think so.

When you go to papavinasam or akashaganga theerthams or other theerthams, just remove shoes nearby while bathing and at nearby shrines.

It's pretty much like any other temple in this respect.

You are very blessed to be going to Tirupati. Please convey my humble regards and obeisances to Sri Venkateshwara Swamy!

~vanamali

As a Hindu I want to let you know how much I appreciate your "transcendental sense of humor"

So you worship the same Sri Krishna worshipped by "Hindus" but, oh, you're not a Hindu, and are qualified to make jokes about Hindus! Ungrateful younger brother of Hinduism has some really wise things to say, eh?

Just kidding! It's a joke, you see?

~Vanamali ;o)

Very nice!